


Behavioral Modification

by mithrel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Blanket Permission, M/M, Podfic Welcome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-15
Updated: 2010-04-15
Packaged: 2017-11-11 07:16:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/475982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mithrel/pseuds/mithrel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every time Sam hears Asia's 'Heat of the Moment' it causes some kind of panic attack. Gabriel, after witnessing it for the first time after joining Team Free Will, tries to fix that, in any way he can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Behavioral Modification

When _Heat of the Moment_ suddenly comes on the radio, Sam breaks Dean’s cardinal rule and mashes the off-button with a squawk, his hands shaking

Dean stares at him. “Dude. What is your major malfunction?”

“Broward County,” Sam grits out, trying to get his heart-rate back under control.

Dean raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t comment.

***

It’s one of the lingering aftereffects of the Mystery Spot. Whenever Sam hears that song his system floods with adrenaline, and a sense of despair and helplessness overcomes him. He expects it to go away eventually…conditioned responses usually do, one the conditioning stimulus is gone. But it doesn’t. If anything, it gets worse.

It gets to the point where Dean steers him out of places when the song comes on, which is embarrassing as fuck, but Sam’s grateful.

***

More than two years after the hundred Tuesdays when Dean got killed, Sam still gets a post-traumatic reaction when he hears that song, but he’s learned to deal with it.

He hasn’t heard it for more than six months, and he’s beginning to hope he _won’t_ ever hear it again.

Team Free Will has four members now, since Gabriel joined up after God copped out. Sam has a feeling he’d wanted to be proven wrong, and when he wasn’t he’d decided to help them to piss God off more than anything, but he’s not complaining.

Especially since Gabriel hanging around has some…interesting fringe benefits.

As if the thought had summoned him, arms wrap around Sam’s back and a voice in his ear whispers, “Hello, lover.”

Sam turns around in Gabriel’s embrace and grins, then kisses him.

***

The next day, as they head into the lobby, Sam hears it: _Do you remember when we used to dance, and incidents arose from circumstance…_

He freezes, his eyes snapping to the radio behind the desk.

“Aw, crap,” Dean mutters. He turns to Gabriel. “Get him out of here, I’m gonna check out.”

“What?” But Gabriel looks at Sam, sees how he’s gone pale, and nods.

Once the radio is out of earshot, Sam relaxes.

“Mind telling me what that was about?” Gabriel demands.

“It’s…a stress reaction.”

“To Asia?” Gabriel asks incredulously. “Sure, they’re not the best band in the world, but–”

Sam swallows, cuts him off. “That…that was the song playing every morning at the Mystery Spot.”

Gabriel sobers immediately. “Oh.”

Sam nods. “Ever since then…every time I hear it I panic.”

“I’m sorry.”

Sam squeezes his hand but doesn’t say anything. “I’m dealing. Unless it comes on during a hunt, which isn’t likely, I’m good.”

Gabriel nods, but he looks thoughtful.

***

The next time Gabriel shows up the radio comes on, but it’s too quiet for Sam to hear what’s playing and Gabriel gives him other things to think about.

Over the next few weeks he gets used to the radio buzzing quietly in the background while they have sex, even though there’s no point. It’s never loud enough to hear the song.

Then one day it is, and Sam freezes. “Gabriel–”

“Sam. Hey, look at me,” Gabriel forces his head up from where Sam has tucked it down into his chest. “This is my fault, and I’m gonna fix it.”

Sam gulps, trying to force down the nausea caused by the music still playing. “How?”

Gabriel grins. “By making you associate this song with something pleasant.”

And then Gabriel kisses him and Sam forgets about the music for awhile.

***

Gabriel keeps the music at that level for several weeks, but Sam still gets anxious, and Gabriel has to distract him from it. It’s still pretty quiet, barely loud enough to tell what the song is, and Sam’s getting discouraged.

He gets up out of bed and turns off the radio with a sigh.

“Hey, we’ll get it, don’t worry,” Gabriel says from the bed.

Sam sighs again.

***

He does finally relax…until Gabriel starts playing the song at normal radio volume. “Gabriel, God, turn it off!”

Gabriel grabs his hand when he reaches for the radio. “Shh, Sammy, it’s OK.”

“It’s _not!_ ” Sam growls, pushing away from him. _Dean, Dean’s gonna die because that song is playing._ Part of him knows that’s ridiculous, but it’s a very small part.

Gabriel grabs hold of his arms as he fights. “Sam. Sam, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Sam stops struggling and buries his face in Gabriel’s shoulder, shaking. Gabriel strokes his back and hair. “Shhh, shhh, it’s OK.”

But he can’t stop shivering, and finally Sam kisses Gabriel, fiercely, trying to block out the music still playing.

Gabriel lets him, lets him push him down on the bed and pull his shirt off, lets him rake his nails down his back hard enough to draw blood if Gabriel had been human. Lets him push him down and latch onto his neck, sucking hard enough to leave a temporary bruise. Lets him pin his arms above his head.

The song’s still playing: _And when your looks are gone and you're alone, how many nights you sit beside the phone…_ He grinds down into Gabriel, trying not to hear it.

Gabriel brushes his hair back behind his ears and strokes his back. “Focus on me. The song’s not important.”

Sam tries, but it seems like the song’s getting louder.

Gabriel flips them over so Sam’s underneath him, and snaps away his shirt. Then he licks down Sam’s neck and all over his chest, and yeah, maybe the song isn’t important.

Sam arches up into him when Gabriel runs his tongue over a nipple, and whimpers when he pulls away. But Gabriel only reaches down to undo his jeans. Sam lifts up so he can take them off.

When Gabriel leans down and takes him in his mouth, the song is drowned out by the rushing in his ears. His hands come down to fist in Gabriel’s hair, and Gabriel lets him take control.

Sam pulls him down all the way, thankful that angels don’t have a gag reflex. When Gabriel actually opens his throat and takes him in Sam arches off the bed and slams down again as Gabriel swallows around him.

With provocation like that it’s not long before he’s coming. He pulls Gabriel up to kiss him, and reaches down to return the favor, only to see that Gabriel’s already come.

“You’re hot like that,” Gabriel protests, his tone daring Sam to comment.

Sam only laughs softly and pulls Gabriel down to lie on top of him, the song still playing in the background.

_It was the heat of the moment, the heat of the moment, the heat of the moment showed in your eyes._


End file.
